Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Violation (04/04/24)
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TITLE: A Hard Lesson | Previous Challenge Entry
By Ellen Janson
04/10/24 -
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During the Morgan’s first Spring in Michigan, many of their son’s recreational teams overlapped with those of Watson’s. Both dads were coaches. The families practically lived at the baseball fields.
The boys continued their game in the Watson’s deep backyard when the season ended. Sometimes other neighborhood kids joined in, but the favorite games of the summer were “night games” - when it was just their eight and even the parents played. On those nights, the game would go until they could barely see the baseball anymore.
The families spent so much time together, that the friendships between the parents grew as quickly as that of their sons. Tom and Bill were always borrowing each other’s tools, and bantering with each other about who had the greenest grass. Beth and Michele shared carpool duties, and often met in the middle of the street to supervise their kids playing, while at the same time sharing meaningful conversations.
Tom and Beth felt very blessed and were extremely thankful for their neighbor’s friendship; so when Bill called Tom the following winter with “money problems”, the Morgans wanted to help. Bill was a builder. He told Tom that he needed $10,000, but only until one of his houses sold. He was just “strapped for cash” he explained., and was certain one of his houses would sell soon.
But there was a catch.
Bill did not want his wife, Michele, to find out about the loan. He said it would only stress her out. And since it would be so “short term”, he reasoned, there really was no need to concern her. When Tom called Beth to discuss pulling money out of their savings account, Beth was disturbed by the idea of going behind her friend’s back.
“It’s not like you’re lying to her, Beth. You’re just not telling her everything,” Tom convinced her. Beth really wanted to help her friends, so she agreed to the loan.
She didn’t pray about this decision. She just agreed to write the check.
Three days later, the Morgan’s ten year old son came home crying that the Watsons were “moving out of town”. Beth felt surely there had been a misunderstanding, and immediately called her friend Michele. Michele confirmed that yes, she and the children would be moving to Kentucky to live with her parents until Bill “figured things out”. She was hysterical and said that she had just found out about all of the money her husband had been borrowing - that he had been “robbing Peter to pay Paul” for almost a year. They were broke.
Tom and Beth felt completely violated. They had not only lost $10,000, but had been completely betrayed by someone they thought was one of their best friends. Even their children would suffer. Beth brought her tears outside to wrestle with God.
“We were only trying to help,” she pleaded with Him.
“I will never bless a lie,” she heard Him respond in His soft whisper.
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Well written.